Nursing Care for Infectious Diseases

·        Bacteria: These one-cell organisms are responsible for illnesses such as strep throat, urinary tract infections, and tuberculosis.

·        Viruses: Viruses cause a multitude of diseases ranging from the common cold to AIDS and severe hazards.

·        Fungi: Fungi cause many skin diseases, such as ringworm (alopecia/tinea), and other types of fungi can infect and destroy tissues in major organs in the human body, such as the lungs or nervous system.

·        Parasites: Malaria is caused by a tiny parasite that is transmitted by a mosquito bite. Other parasites may be transmitted to humans through animals or their waste.

Modes of Transmission for Most Infectious Diseases

Contact with an infected person or animal makes it easy to contract infectious diseases. There are multiple ways infectious diseases can spread through direct contact:

·        Direct Contact: A common way for infectious diseases to spread is through the direct transfer of bacteria, viruses, or other germs from one person to another. This can happen when an infected person touches or is touched by someone else. Example: Kissing.

·        Bodily Fluids: Disease can also spread through the exchange of fluids via sexual contact. In this case, the disease may be transmitted because the other person is not infected but is a carrier.

·        Animal to Human: You can contract a disease by being bitten or scratched by an infected animal, such as contracting rabies. Handling animal waste can also be dangerous. For example, you can contract toxoplasmosis infection by exposure to cat waste.

·        Mother to Fetus: A pregnant woman can pass germs that cause infectious diseases to her fetus. Some germs may pass through the placenta, and germs present in the vagina may also be transmitted to the baby during childbirth.

Organisms that cause disease can also be transmitted through indirect contact. Many germs can live on lifeless objects, such as table tops or doorknobs.

Example: When you touch a doorknob previously touched by someone sick with the flu or a cold, you may pick up the germs left behind by that person. If you then touch your eyes, mouth, or nose before washing your hands, you may become infected.

Other Indirect Ways to Contract Infectious Germs

·        Insect Bites: Some germs rely on carrier insects — such as mosquitoes, fleas, lice, and ticks — to transfer them from host to host. These carriers are known as vectors. Mosquitoes can carry malaria parasites or the West Nile virus.

·        Food Contamination: Another way you can become infected is through disease-causing germs in contaminated food and water. This transmission mechanism allows germs to spread to many people from a single source. For example, Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria found in or on certain foods, such as undercooked meat or unpasteurized fruit juice.